Ear and neck protector



Feb. 28, 1939. o. w FAIRCHILD EAR AND NECK PROTECTOR Filed Feb. 5, 1958 1N VENTOR. D MP-SE) W/Z/fiCH 0 Y ATTORNEY.

- condition.

Patented F eli. 28, 1939 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE Dempsey W. Fairchild, Denver, Colo. v Application February 5, 1938, Serial No. 188,835

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ear and neck protectors and refers more particularly toa meansfor protecting the wearer from the heated air used in mechanical hair driers.

I 5 It is quite common practicein beauty parlors to expedite the drying of the customers hair, j after it'has been wetted byya shampoo or other treatment, and for this purpose an apparatus is positioned adjacent the. back and top of the head for flowing heated air overthe hair. In order to be effective, the air must be heated to such a. de-

gree that it-is decidedly uncomfortable if it comes into direct contact with the skin and many cusears and the neck and shield them from the unpleasant hot air currents. Another object is to. produce a protector that can readily be laundered and kept in sanitary A further object is to provide a protector having associated with it or-forming part of it, a wire frame that functions as a means for attaching it to the ears of a customer and which frame can be readily detached from the fabric part when the latter is to be cleaned.

The above and other objects that may appear as the description proceeds are attained by-means ofa construction and arrangement of parts that will now be described in detail and for this purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which the invention has been illustrated in its preferred form and in which:

I Figure 1 is a view showing the protector in place on a wearer's head;

Figure 2 is a rear view showing the protector in place;

Figure 3 is a plan-view of the protector in detached position; and v v Figure 4 is a perspective view of the wire frame, showing the same separate from the fabric covering.

In the drawing, reference numeral 5 designates the protector proper, whichis formed from cloth or paper or from any other suitable material, as forexample "Cellophane and reference numeral 6 designates the wire frame as a, whole.

The protector 5 is usually made from cloth in the form of a bag whose open end has been desigfl nated by numeral 1. The closed end or bottom has beend designatedby numeral 8 and is downwardly concave. The bottom comers form pro- 55 jecting pockets 9 and the sides III are upwardly flaring and preferably somewhat concave. The pockets 9 form corner tabs that serve to cover the ears. Thetbottom 8 is curved downwardly to such an extent that when the projector is in place, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the edge of the 5 bottom conforms quite closely to the hair line. Since the hair line is not a fixed line that is the samejfor all individuals, it is apparent that the protector may cover up some of the hair on some individuals and perhaps expose part of the neck on others, but since the hair is to be exposed to the drying action of the hot air andthe neck protected therefrom, it is evident that the more closely the protector bottom follows thehair line the better. The protector bag 5 is formed from two pieces sewed together along the edges as indicated by reference numeral l I, and its open end is hemmed, as indicated by numeral i2.

To facilitate the attachment of the protector to a person's head, a wire frame, constructed somewhat as shown in Fig. 4, is provided. The frame has loops 13 at its opposite ends and these are connected by double wires l4 held together by small metal loops l5.- The loops l3 are somewhat larger than the human'ear and are so designed with respect to the protector that they almost fill thepockets. When the frame is in position in the protector bag it occupies a position somewhat as shown by dotted lines in- Fig. 3.

The material of which the frame is made is resilient, such as spring brass or piano wire, and is so formed that the distance between the loops I 3 is somewhat less than the width of a human head. The wire frame therefore tends to exert a compressive pressure on the head that holds the protector material close to the head so as to prevent the hot air from flowing between the protector and the head.

The frame 6 has been described as made from wire, but-it may be made of any suitable material such as some phenolic condensation product or Celluloid. A metal wire is, however, believed to be the most practical. The bottom of the bag may be provided with an elastic that tends to contract the material which is therefore wrinkled or gathered as indicated at I 6. This facilitates the fitting to diflerent sizes of heads.

After the hair has been shampooed, finger waved or otherwise treated so as to make it wet, the customer is seated in front of a drying ap- 5o paratus, which has been diagrammatically representedby broken lines in Fig. 1, and designated by reference numeral il. Hot air is flowed from the drier and emerges between the latter and the head in the manner indicated by arrows ll. The 5 hot dry air evaporates the moisture from the wet hair and the air that would otherwise strike the ears and neck now strikes the protector 5, the latter serving as a shield to protect the parts from the hot air.

There must be at least one frame for each customer to be simultaneously treated, but there should be several protector bags for each frame so that each customer can have a clean one. Since the frames are easily insertable in and removable from the bags the latter can be changed as often as necessary.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is 1. In combination with a hair drying device having means for flowing heated air over the head of a person, means for protecting the ears and the neck from the effect of the air comprising a flexible covering for the ears and the neck, and means for detachably attaching the covering to the ears. 2. An ear and neck protector, comprising a wire frame having a loop at each end for engaging an ear, the portion connecting the loops being downwardly curved, the connecting portion extending around the back of the head below the hair line, and a removable covering shaped to receive the frame, that portion of the covering which encloses the loops serving to protect the ears, and a portion extending downwardly below the loop connecting portion to protect the neck.

bottom corners having pocket-like depressions projecting in the direction of the bag-like member and slightly outwardly inclined, and means for attaching the pockets to the ears, the pocket portions serving to protect the ears and the remaining portions of the member which extends downwardly to protect the neck of the wearer.

5. An ear and neck protector comprising a piece of fabric having two corner tabs joined by an inwardly curved edge, the corner tabs serving to cover and protect the ears of a wearer, the upper edge of the material, when in place on a head, being substantially at the hair line, the material being of suflicient width at the center to project downwardly over a wearer's neck to protect the same, and means for attaching the protector to the head of a person to hold it in position during ,use.

DEMPSEY W. FAIRCHIID. 

